Outlaws of Love
by BoboTheBookworm
Summary: Everywhere we go, we're looking for the sun. Nowhere to grow old, we're always on the run. They say we'll rot in hell, but I don't think we will. They've branded us enough, we're outlaws of love." "Outlaws of Love" by Adam Lambert. An Alico one-shot, in which Alex gets fed up with him and Nico being judged just because of their sexuality.


**A/N: Why, hello, hello, my lions and llamas! (I've been reading Phan, okay?) So my Internet has frozen so I can't read more Phan (*sigh*), and instead of going to sleep like I should, I've come up with an idea for a fanfic, inspired by **_**Outlaws Of Love**_** by Adam Lambert, and holy Jesus, is it amazing. So here is a quick little Alico one-shot, and you better listen to the song while reading.**

"Oh, look! It's that fag from the Hermes cabin!" I clenched my jaw. My fist tightened around my sword, as I closed my eyes. I glanced across the sword arena, where Nico was sitting in the stands. He mouthed, "Ignore them." But I couldn't. It wasn't easy. He of all people knew that.

I looked at the kid across from me, a boy from the Nemesis cabin. His name was Zach, and he was one of the people I hated the most. He was just about as bad as Kameron. He smirked, seeing that he was getting to me. "Your faggot of a boyfriend is here, too, right? Nico?"

I noticed Nico's face fall a bit, which would go unnoticed by pretty much anyone but me. But I knew him better than anyone, and I knew he was hurt. And _no one_ hurt Nico. Not on my watch.

I launched myself at Zach, jumping on top of him. "What the hell?" he shouted, as I knocked his sword out of his hands. People began standing up, running over, but I ignored them. I launched my fist at his face, his cheek hitting the dirt. He groaned, and I punched his arm, then his face again. "Agh!" he shouted, grimacing in pain.

"Alex!" I heard Annabeth (who was the instructor at the moment) yell, running over. "Stop!"

"You- fucking- asshole!" I screamed, my eyes burning. We couldn't help the way we were! I'd spent years wishing I was straight, wondering why I was the way I was, but I couldn't change anything!

"Alex, Alex! Stop, it's okay!" I heard Nico's voice say behind me, but I knew he'd been hurt. _Faggot. Wrong. Unnatural. Disgusting. Queer. _The words we were forced to hear every single day. The words that hurt us, that tore me apart.

"But it's not!" I yelled, my voice cracking. "It's not okay!" I felt Nico's arms pull me away from Zach, who was rubbing his now bleeding nose. "It's fine, it's fine," Nico soothed in my ear, but I knew that was a lie, and we both knew it.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Zach demanded, his eyes wide.

"YOU!" I screamed. "You're my problem! All of you-" I pointed around the arena, at everyone who had ever given Nico and I disgusted looks, harsh words, or even physical pain. "—Are my fucking problem!" Everyone was silent around me, as I shouted at them.

"WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, YET YOU PEOPLE TREAT US LIKE SHIT!" I screamed, tears burning in my eyes. I felt Nico's arms tighten around me, and I relaxed a little. "Alex, it's okay," he whispered softy. "Come on, let's just leave." I sighed, defeated, as I began following him out of the arena.

Just as I was about to leave, though, I turned around. I stalked up to Zach, and yanked him up to his feet. "Oh," I said, "One more thing." I thrust my fist into his gut, and he grunted, falling to the ground again. "Don't you _ever_ insult my boyfriend again," I threatened him, my jaw tight. I walked back to Nico, took his hand in mine, and left the arena, wincing as I heard someone yell, "Fags!"

Nico and I walked into the woods, and made our way to Zeus's Fist. I slid down against the rocks until I hit the ground, Nico following suit. As soon as he had, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, holding me tightly to his side. I tucked my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them, staring down at the ground.

Nico didn't say anything. Not even when I began crying; he just pulled me closer to him, his embrace tightening around me as I sniffed and shuddered. "We didn't do anything," I whispered my earlier words. "We can't change how we are."

"Would you want to?" Nico asked, resting his chin on the top of my head. I quickly shook my head, "No. No, I wouldn't. I used to, though. I wanted to change so badly. Everyone at school would hurt me, I-I'd even…" I shook my head, trying to shake the memories of getting beaten up at school. "Anyway, my mom and stepdad, they were completely disgusted when I came out to them… Then, my mom said, 'I can fix it. We can _fix_ your problem, and our family will be whole again.' Like me being gay, it- it would ruin the family." I gulped, as Nico tilted his head down and kissed my forehead. "People at school, they- they would call me a-a faggot, they would tell me I was going to hell, and I'd get these disgusted looks everywhere I went. Except Ryder. I really, really liked him, and for once, someone liked me for who I was… That is, until monsters started attacking me. I'd run to him, and tell him what I'd seen, what had happened. He became scared of me, thought I'd gone insane, and he- he just left. He just left me, and he began ignoring me. I- I didn't have anybody," I choked, sobbing into Nico's shoulder now.

Nico kissed my forehead repeatedly. "It's okay. You're okay now. You've got me now, you always will. I won't let anything happen to you. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"But they're hurting you too!" I argued. "I see how it affects you. Every time someone insults us, it upsets you; I can see it in your eyes. You hate showing it, but it _does _affect you."

"Hey," Nico said, "Focus on the good people. That's what you said, the first day we met, remember? I listen to that advice, you know. Yes, the words will hurt momentarily, but then I think about what I've got. I've got Hazel, I have Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Frank, Piper, Jason, Chiron, and most importantly, I have _you, _Alex. That's all I need to make me feel better."

I sniffed, and wrapped my arms around Nico, clutching him as close as possible, and I felt him smile. "Thank you, Nico," I whispered. "Any time," he whispered back, giving me a smile. Gods, I loved that smile. I hugged Nico tighter, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"It's not wrong."

I pulled away from him, looking at his face. "What?" I asked.

"Being gay," Nico answered. "It isn't wrong. We aren't going to the Fields of Punishment for it. Trust me, if anyone would know, I would. It might be different, but it definitely isn't wrong. If anyone is going to the Fields, it's the people who try to make us feel terrible for being who we are."

I nodded, taking off my glasses to wipe the tears (which had finally stopped falling) off my cheeks, looking at the ground. "I know."

"And Alex," Nico said. "Please, don't ever let their words get to you. Don't ever forget how wonderful you are."

I glanced up at his face, and I was so close to him, I didn't need my glasses to see his face clearly. His dark blue eyes bore into mine, and I felt the overwhelming want to kiss him. A small smile grew on my face. I cupped one hand around the back of his neck, and leaned forward to connect our lips, closing my eyes. I felt the same sparks and fireworks as I always did when I kissed him. He wrapped his hands around my own neck, holding me closer as our lips moved in sync. I felt all my worries wash away, and instead, I focused on Nico, and only Nico. I silently thanked the gods that I had someone like him. No matter how shitty of a life he had, he was still caring and sweet, and I wondered what I ever did to be so lucky.

The conch horn sounded, and we pulled apart. I groaned and Nico rolled his eyes, grinning at me as I put on my glasses again. We climbed to our feet, our hands joining together, and walked to the pavilion. "I'm sitting next to you," I told Nico as we approached it. "It's against the rules," he said, smirking. "Like that's ever stopped me," I grinned back.

Once we'd gotten our food and given our offerings, we walked to his table, earning a disapproving yet amused look from Chiron. I just shrugged to him, and it became just full amusement. We sat down next to each other, earning a few mumbles from campers. I didn't see why; we'd done this a few times before, but they never seemed less surprised. I shook my head and began eating my food with my left hand, my right still intertwined with Nico's.

Suddenly, I felt something hard and sharp hit my forehead. I winced, dropping my fork. Nico looked at me, alarmed. I held my hand to my head and looked at what had hit me. It was a rock. Someone had seriously thrown a rock at me.

I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, as Nico rubbed his thumb across my hand comfortingly, as a reminder to think of the good people. _Nico. Nico. Nico. _

I felt a sharp pain in my forehead again, and my head shot up. That one had hurt more than the first.

"Kameron! Knock it off!" I looked towards Percy, who had shouted. I wasn't necessarily shocked. I knew Percy was loyal to his friends, but that didn't stop me from being a little surprised, not to mention grateful.

"Stop what?" Kameron asked innocently.

"Stop hurting my friends," Percy snapped. "Stop hurting them, stop insulting them, and stop bullying people! Alex didn't do anything, and neither did Nico. And neither did any kids here who might be closeted. There's nothing wrong with being gay. There's nothing different between any of us, except the fact that some of us are kind, and some people are like you."

"You listen here, Jackson," Kameron started, standing up. "You don't tell me what to do, and you do not make me look like an idiot."

"You do that yourself." I stood up shakily. I'd gotten a good beating from Kameron plenty of times, and I knew they wouldn't cease after this. But I _needed _to defend myself, not just let my friends do it for me.

I noticed Nico looking nervously at me. He knew how rough Kameron got with me, but he also knew that I could usually handle myself. I walked up to Kameron, who towered over me, but I refused to let that intimidate me.

"I know you think that I'm unnatural. I know that you think being gay is wrong. I know you think that I should be punished for being who I am. I know that you think I'm disgusting. I know that you think I've decided to be the way I am. But one, news flash, we're _all _unnatural." I gestured to everyone in the pavilion. "And not just because we're demigods. _Everyone_ is different in their own way. My way is being attracted to males. Your way is to have an oddly low intelligence." I heard a few snickers, but I continued. "Being gay isn't wrong. It's a natural thing. It may not be normal, it might be different, but it definitely isn't wrong. It's not like we all turn out to be murderers or something, we're just normal human beings, or demigods anyway. I am who I am," I said, shrugging, "And I shouldn't be punished for that. My sexuality is part of me, and you can't take that away. Being gay is not disgusting, but trying to make people feel terrible about themselves, and something they can't help, is. People don't just choose their sexuality. We don't wake up one morning and go, 'Oh! I think I should start liking my own sex! That'd be cool!' That's not how it works. You didn't wake up one morning and decide to be straight, and I didn't decide to be gay. It's just how I am, and it's how I've always been. And you know what?" I said, shaking my head. "I wouldn't _want _to change. I _like_ who I am, I _like_ being unique and different, and I _really _like loving Nico. Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but I don't really care. Just deal with it."

Kameron stood, dumbfounded. I just shrugged and gave him a little smirk, before turning around and sitting back down next to Nico. There were a few claps from some of the campers, and Chiron was looking at me, very proudly. I realized that there was a reason he hadn't intervened. He wanted to see what I would do, and judging by his reaction, he wasn't let down.

I looked at Nico, who was staring at me. "What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I gave him a lopsided grin and said, "Didn't think your boyfriend could pull off a speech like that?"

Nico didn't say anything, and instead just kept staring. "What?" I repeated, growing a little concerned.

A tiny smile grew on his face. "You said… You said that you loved me. In front of everyone."

My eyes widened. _Did I really say that?_ I looked down and played with my hands, turning bright red. "Oh… Yeah, I-I guess I did…" I glanced up at him. "Um, sorry, if that embarrassed you. I- I just—"

Nico took my face in his hands and smashed his lips onto mine, gaining a few cat calls. I rolled my eyes. I cupped his face with my hand, closing my eyes. He leaned into my body as I did his, and I let a hand run through his hair, and he quickly did the same. The fireworks were no longer fireworks. Instead, they were nuclear explosions. I heard someone shout some harsh words, but I just threw up my middle finger, smiling as I kissed my beautiful boyfriend, completely blocking out the rest of the world.

"I love you," he whispered as we parted. "I love you, I love you, I love you." I chuckled, my eyes scanning his face that was of pure joy, knowing mine probably looked just the same. "And I love you," I said, not even caring that I was tearing up. I kissed him again, soft and gentle this time, not quite as frenzied, but just as impassioned.

We heard someone clear their throat, so we hesitantly pulled away. We looked up at Chiron, who was standing in front of us, looking very amused. The color of pink rose up to our cheeks. "Sorry, sir," we mumbled, glancing at each other. "Chiron!" a girl from the Aphrodite cabin yelled. "Don't ruin their moment!" Chiron just chuckled and shook his head, walking away, and I swear I heard him mutter, "Ah, young love."

I looked at Nico slowly, still bright red, to see he looked the same. I began giggling, for what reason, I'm not sure, but Nico joined me anyway. We just laughed with each other for a few moments, earning a few strange looks. As we slowly calmed down, I felt his hand take mine, and I looked up at his face. His eyes had so much love in them, and I smiled shyly, leaning over and kissing his cheek. His cheek turned red again, and my smile grew. Dear gods, I loved him. So, so much.


End file.
